Universities suffer rude tourist behavior

[photopress:Tsinghua_Entrance.jpg,full,alignright]With 4,000 tourists each a day, China’s two most prestigious universities — Tsinghua and Peking — are struggling to maintain their academic ambiance after opening to organized tour groups this summer.

Chen, a graduate student at Peking University, said, ‘Just a couple of days ago several tourists with their luggage sat in a classroom, talking out loud.’ He said the campus had become too noisy to study in.

The surge in tourists has also brought litter, destruction of the lawns and graffiti.

Professor Ma Rong of Peking University said, ‘A university is not a park. We would like some peace to in our daily lives and to focus on our studies.’ He said the non-stop tour groups disturbed his work.

Many travel agencies have arranged college travel products for tourists who want their children to be motivated by the experience.

A parent who came the way from the central China city of Wuhan to Tsinghua with his son, said, ‘I just want my son to feel the environment of Tsinghua and pursue higher learning. When we go home he’ll probably take more supplementary courses.’

During the summer holidays, an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 tourists visit Tsinghua and Peking everyday. Our picture shows a small group of them who are tidy, quiet and well-behaved and no problem whatsoever.

To cope with the pressure, Peking University has taken measures including requiring tour companies to book groups three days in advance, limiting the travel routes and organizing more than 100 volunteer guides.

Tsinghua University is to limit opening times for tour groups and increase patrols to supervise unwelcome behavior.

Fu Jia’nan, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said some agencies and parents were so obsessed with the college atmosphere that they ignored the basic civility of their children adding that universities should arrange tour schedules more carefully and travel agencies should promote civil behavior among tourists.
Source: China View

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